


Ashen Remains

by deaththerabbit



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-09-05 12:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16810849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaththerabbit/pseuds/deaththerabbit
Summary: Suou Tsukasa arrives in the village of Bherna to seek vengeance against the monsters that took away the most important thing to him, and finds something else along the way.





	1. Chapter One

The tavern in Bherna was really no different from the one Tsukasa had known back home; dim lights and raucous laughter, the clinking of glasses and sloshing of whatever drink rested within those glasses.

The moment Tsukasa pushed through the door, a hush fell over the tavern as every pair of eyes turned and settled on him. He knew it wasn’t because of the mud that caked his dented silver greaves or the blood and ash that had stained each sleeve. Instead, they had fallen silent because of the red of his hair and the violet of his eyes that at first made him a dead ringer for a hunter that had left so long ago.

“Akane?” One of the older women behind the counter asked, her eyes widening in unbridled shock, as if she could not believe what she were seeing in front of her. “No...it’s been twenty years, and you’re too young…”

Tsukasa’s breath caught in his throat at the sound of his mother’s name and pain burrowed deep into his heart like a thorn. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “My mother couldn’t make it, but she sends her regards. My father as well.” He spoke slowly, fighting to keep his voice from shaking. 

Before he had finished speaking, whispers erupted from every table as hunters and villagers alike stared at him in surprise.

Tsukasa paid them no mind, instead approaching the bar and the woman that had mistaken him for his mother. Though he needed to speak with the village chief about taking his parent’s place, it could wait until morning, and it could definitely wait until he had washed the blood and ash from his clothes and armor.

“Excuse me, but you knew my mother, didn’t you? She...she mentioned that she still had place here that I could use. If not, I’ll figure something else out.” He spoke softly to the woman that had recognized him.

“Ah...Tsukasa, was it? Your mother wrote about you in her letters...ah, but yes, her place is still here, and Chamberlyne has been keeping up on the housekeeping, so you needn’t worry about dusting.” The woman replied. “Just give me a minute to get someone to cover for me and I’ll take you over there.”

Tsukasa gave a slight nod and watched her disappear into the back room. He let out a sigh and relaxed against the bar, finally allowing himself to listen to the tavern patrons whisper about him.

“Is that the guy that went up against an Abyssal Lagiacrus when he was just a kid?” A harsh whisper from behind him caught his attention, but Tsukasa didn’t react. He was used to these whispers.

“I heard that he hasn’t gone after any large monsters, so I can’t imagine that even that would be enough if he’s trying to join up with a hunting party.” A softer, smoother voice spoke over the other. “Ah, miss, can I get another round for my friends and I, or maybe a date instead?”

Tsukasa tuned out their voices after that, letting out a sigh. It was true that he hadn’t gone after any large monsters since the incident with the Abyssal Lagiacrus, although it was more because his parents had always picked up the majority of those requests before he even had a chance to take any of them on. Thus, he had been left with only menial tasks, such as small monster hunting and gathering. Even so, he was not looking to join a hunting party in the first place.

It wasn’t long before the woman returned, a younger girl behind her to run the bar while she was gone. “I’m sorry for the wait. Let’s get going. You...look as if you need a good night’s sleep.” She smiled kindly.

With a slight nod, Tsukasa straightened up and followed the woman as she made her way out of the tavern, unable to deny that he was dead tired. It had been a long journey, and he had not even had a chance to ask for a ride from any friendly felynes.

“Thank you.” He replied once they had left the crowded tavern, allowing his posture to sag with his exhaustion. He paused for a moment, the tiniest of frowns finally appearing on his face.

“Oh, no worries. I’m just happy to be able to help out Akane’s precious son. When you hear from her next, you will tell her to visit soon, won’t you?” The woman asked cheerily.

Tsukasa’s heart sank at the mention of his mother’s name again, but he knew that he could not speak the truth to everyone else until he had reported to the village chief, and then the president of operations at the Yumenosaki Monster Research Hub. “Of course, I will. I’ll send a letter in the morning.” He nearly choked on the words, feeling as if he were about to be sick if this conversation lasted any longer.

The woman gave a nod and finally came to a stop in front of a small house, still well taken care of, despite the fact that it had been uninhabited for at least twenty years. “Here we are. I hope you’ll enjoy it here, and if you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask.” She handed Tsukasa the key and waited until he nodded before turning and heading back to the tavern.

Finally alone, Tsukasa stared down at the key in his hand, allowing himself to relax. Then he slowly put it into the lock on the door and turned it until it clicked.

For a moment, he hesitated. Though his mind and body begged him desperately for rest, he knew that the moment he let his guard down, everything would hit him at once, and he wasn’t sure if he was prepared for that just yet.

Tsukasa shook his head and steeled his courage, opening the door and slowly taking a few steps inside, closing the door quietly behind him. 

Bathed in darkness, he fumbled around until he found the oil lantern and managed to light it after several tries. When he was sure that the flame wouldn’t flicker out, he slowly looked around at the room, bathed in orange light.

It looked as if the house were just a single room, that had a living space and kitchen combined into one, with an add-on bathroom. It was unpersonalized, as if his mother had taken every personal item with her when she had left home.

Tsukasa dropped his bag by the door and placed his sword and shield on the table in the center of the room on his way to the bathroom. He needed to clean himself up before he did anything else. He hadn’t been able to clean the blood and ash from his clothes since his departure from home.

With a heavy sigh, he removed his armor and took off his gloves, taking a moment wash the blood and grime from his face and hands. He really needed to do better than that, but he couldn’t bring himself to do much more than run his damp fingers through his untidy hair.

He bit his lip for a moment, refusing to look at himself in the mirror. He already knew he looked like death walking, and didn’t particularly want to hasten the distress that was beginning to rise up inside him.

Tsukasa turned and went back out the main room, oil lantern in his hand. He went over to the table and sat in one of the rickety chairs, staring at the sword and shield.

It was a charge blade, one that had belonged to his mother, and now belonged to him. As he stared into the silver of the steel, he felt as if he were falling. Falling back down into the hell he had just left.

For a moment, he felt as if the stench of smoke would never leave him.

And just like that, the dam broke, and a single tear rolled down his face, soon followed by several more. Memories he would never be able to forget rose to the surface.

The stench of smoke and burning flesh; the sight of nothing but ash and the barely standing burnt beams that had once been his village; the sight of what remained of his parents in the center of his village, where they had made their last stand against whatever had torn through his home like a storm of fire.

Tsukasa slowly took the sword into his hands and ran his finger across the flat of the blade, noting the smoothness of the metal. It wasn’t enough to distract him from the despair that grew stronger and stronger within the ashen remains of his heart.

His hand tightened around the hilt of the sword and he squeezed his eyes shut to try to forget the images that forced themselves to the forefront of his mind.

A vicious anger swept through him. His parents had done nothing but protect his village and help further research on monsters, and this was the fate they had received for everything that they had done. The villagers he had grown up with had been innocent, and they, too, had been erased from existence in such a short time.

They deserved better. They all deserved so much better. Tsukasa could not bring back the dead, but he could sure as hell avenge them.


	2. Chapter Two

Watery sunlight leaked in through the curtains, dragging Tsukasa out of his exhausted sleep. He opened his eyes and blinked slowly until they adjusted to the light.

A soft groan left his chapped lips and he slowly sat up, rubbing at his face. He couldn’t deny that he felt much better after a full night’s sleep, even though he had only slept so well out of pure exhaustion.

“Ah! Meowster, you’re awake! I hope you’re hungry, beclaws I’ve got breakfast all ready for you, if you’d like to come to the table.” A small voice piped up from the table, where a small, bipedal cat was setting the table for him. His fur was cream and brown at the tips of his ears, paws and tail and the point of his nose, indicative of a felyne. This must be Chamberlyne.

“Oh...Are you Chamberlyne?” Tsukasa asked hesitantly, unsure of whether or not he should be concerned that the felyne had managed to get in without a key.

“Yes, that’s me-ow.” Chamberlyne finished setting the table and went over to the kitchen to clean up the mess he had made while cooking. He leapt up onto the counter and set to work, glancing up at Tsukasa. “My fameowly has been working for your mother’s fameowly for generations, so please feel at ease. You’re safe in my paws.”

“Ah...thank you very much.” Tsukasa had to admit that while he still wasn’t sure about the felyne, he seemed kind enough.

Tsukasa got up slowly and stretched each sore limb before going to sit down at the table. He rubbed at his eyes and then dug into his food, stopping after one bite to turn and look at Chamberlyne.

“This is marvelous!”

A startled purr escaped the felyne and he turned to look at Tsukasa, rubbing at his ear bashfully with one paw. “Thank you very meowch! I’m pawsitively delighted that you’re enjoying it!”

Tsukasa smiled and continued to eat, feeling much better than he had the last several days. Good food and comfortable bed to sleep in were something that he had definitely missed on his journey here.

He pushed his plate away when he was done and leaned back in his chair for a moment, ignoring the pressing matters that he needed to deal with for just a moment before straightening up and stretching his arms out.

“Thanks, Chamberlyne.” Tsukasa brought the plate over to the sink and dropped it in gently, offering the felyne a smile. “I’ve got to get going, but…” He paused for a moment, wondering what to say. “Where do you live?”

“Oh, I just live in that little hut outside.” Chamberlyne set to work cleaning the plate, scrubbing vigorously. “I’ll be here when you get back, and if you can’t find me, that’s where I’ll be most of the time.”

“Thank you again.” Tsukasa replied, grabbing his bag from where he had left it the night before and going to the bathroom. Once there, he took his spare set of clothes out of his bag and set them on the counter, stripping down and stepping into the shower.

He turned the water on, flinching at the cold until it began to warm up. He let out a heavy sigh and set about washing away the grime that he had missed the night before. There was nothing he could do about the bags under his eyes, but he could at least make sure that he looked at least somewhat presentable.

Tsukasa turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a fresh towel that Chamberlyne had set out for him and dried off quickly.

Without a second thought, he got dressed and ran his fingers through his damp hair, trying to smooth it out. He found that keeping himself busy kept him from thinking about all that he had lost and all that he had failed to protect for a short time.

Tsukasa stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, studying his face. He supposed he looked fine enough, minus the dark circles under his eyes, but it would take more than one nights’ sleep to fix that.

He shook his head and left the bathroom, going over to retrieve his armor and his mother’s charge blade and shield. It took only a few practiced movements to put his armor on and strap his sword and shield on his back.

Once he was done with that, he began sorting through his bag, taking out the things he didn’t think he would need for the day and making sure that the rest of his hunting tools were organized enough that he could find them if he ended up needing them.

At the bottom of the bag, he found the last of the sweets that his mother had snuck in for him the last time he had seen her. He hadn’t realized that the next time he saw her, she wouldn’t be alive.

Tsukasa put the sweets back into his bag, rubbing at his eyes with his free hand. He hoped Chamberlyne hadn’t seen the tears that had begun to form in his eyes. He was a hunter, and he needed to be strong.

Besides, both his parents had died doing what they had been trained to do, and Tsukasa had been prepared for that eventuality. But...it didn’t take away the pain that had burrowed its way into his heart like the blade of a knife.

He knew that neither his mother nor his father would want him to lose himself with this loss, and so drew in a deep breath and closed his bag, lifting it over his shoulder.

Steeling his nerves, Tsukasa left the house with a wave to Chamberlyne.

The first task on his list was to meet with the president of the Yumenosaki Monster Research Hub so that he could inform them of what had happened to his home. They would likely dispatch a party of monster hunters and researchers so that the monsters responsible could be identified.

Once the monsters responsible for such a tragedy were identified, his second task would become achievable. He would hunt them down without rest and avenge his parents and the villagers he had grown up with. He would be bringing safety to the rest of the nearby towns and villages in the process.

He knew it would be dangerous; that he might even lose his life in this quest, but...he couldn’t just let these monsters get away with what they had done.

Tsukasa glanced around the sunny village of Bherna and slowly began making his way towards the center of the village, where he was sure the request board would be standing, and hopefully someone who could direct him to his destination.

Bherna was a peaceful village, its residents just beginning to rise for their daily work, while the visiting hunters prepared for whatever request they might be sent out on for the day.

Moofah wandered the paths of the village, munching on the grass that cropped up where it shouldn’t, their wooly coats well maintained by the villagers. They baa’d as Tsukasa passed by, but soon went back to munching on grass, having deemed him a friend rather than a foe.

At the center of the village, Tsukasa found the request board, and with it, a few groups of hunters, clamoring for the best requests of the day, while someone who appeared to be an assistant moderated.

The moment Tsukasa stepped into the group and pushed his way through, a hush fell over the other hunters. All eyes fell on him, suspicious and inquisitive.

And then conversation resumed as the majority of the hunters turned their attention back to the task at hand. Now wasn’t the time to be gawking when they needed to be on their way with their quests if they wanted to return before nightfall.

“I’m looking for the president of the monster research hub, Tenshouin Eichi. I have important information to pass along. It’s vital that I see him as soon as possible.” Tsukasa spoke to the attendant at the request board, paying little attention to the hunters he had so rudely pushed past.

A snort of laughter came from his left, and Tsukasa glanced over to see who had made the noise, his violet eyes narrowed faintly.

A grey haired man mocked him with eyes as yellow as a Nakarkos’, a smirk just barely contained on his face. “You just got here, and you think you can just walk up an’ ask for the president without proving yourself worthy first?”

Tsukasa recognized his voice now as one of the hunters from the tavern the night before. “And who are you to deem me worthy or not? You know nothing of me.” He turned away from the hunter and back to the board attendant, crossing his arms. “Please tell me where I can find the president.”

“Ahh...Sora is sorry, but Oogami-san is right! You can’t see the president without first proving that you can handle yourself here and now, or by providing proof from where you came from that you’re qualified.” The attendant bowed his head, yellow and green hair just barely hiding his eyes.

Although he understood their point, Tsukasa could not help but feel impatient. He had important information and business to take care of. He hadn’t really wanted to flaunt his one shining achievement to get his way, but...it didn’t look as if he had much of a choice.

“I suppose the fang of an Abyssal Lagiacrus will do as proof?” Tsukasa had not killed the beast himself, seeing as he had only been a child when he had gone up against it, but he had done the impossible and retrieved a fang from the deadliest class of Lagiacrus all on his own.

He reached into his bag and retrieved the fang, presenting it to the attendant. He kept it with him as a good luck charm and a reminder that he was capable, no matter what doubts may plague him.

Sora, the attendant, took the fang in his hands and examined it carefully, while the other hunters watched in rapt silence. “It looks authentic! But...Sora can’t accept this as enough proof that you’re worthy.”

“What?! Why not?!” Tsukasa demanded, snatching the fang back from him. The fang was worth a fortune, and a testament to his tenacity and hunting skills. It had not been easy to get the fang from the Lagiacrus, and it had nearly cost him his life.

“President Tenshouin recently introduced a new rule for entering the service of the research hub to reduce casualties of hunters not yet ready for guild requests. You have to have worked yourself up through the ranks, and...you’ve only faced one large monster. Sora is sorry.” Sora glanced down at his feet and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“Give it up, brat. You’ve gotta work your way up like everyone else does.” The grey haired hunter snapped, unable to keep the smirk from his face. “Now quit holding the rest of us actual hunters up and go fight a Melynx or something.” He pushed past Tsukasa roughly and took a look at the request board.

Three other hunters followed behind, but only one spared him a glance. “Don’t take Koga-kun’s words to heart. He just doesn’t think it’s fair of you to show up and demand something like that out of the blue.” He ran his hand through his blonde hair and followed after his companions before Tsukasa could respond.

Tsukasa wanted to say something nasty about his mullet in his anger, but he refrained, realizing that he was just trying to defuse the tension. It wasn’t worth his time anyway.

He walked away from the other hunters to decide how best to proceed. Clearly his path forward wouldn’t be nearly as easy as he had hoped. It wasn’t as if he could just go on without saying anything about what happened forever; the truth was practically trying to burst from his lips, but he wanted to be able to go with whatever scouting party went to find out which monster had destroyed a whole village, and that would require him to have proved himself a capable enough hunter to protect the researchers on way there.

His attention was drawn from his own thoughts to the hushed voices of two hunters that were talking not too far away from him.

“I already told you, Natchan, it’s fine. It hasn’t been that long, and Secchan is careful. Three days isn’t that long for a hunt, especially with leviathans and flying wyverns. Just give him time, and if he’s not back by tomorrow morning, we’ll go find him.” The first hunter spoke, his red eyes sleepy.

“Oh, fine, Ritsu-chan, but I’ll hold you to it!” The second hunter replied.

Tsukasa decided to return to the request board, finding that there was nothing useful to be gained from listening any longer to them. His temper had cooled anyway, and he was certain that he would be able to prove himself in no time at all. For just a little longer, he would keep his silence.

For just a little longer, he would keep it all inside himself.

By the time he made it back to the request board, Koga was still looking at the board with his other friends. He paid no mind to him, instead turning his attention to Sora.

Just then, a felyne sprinted up to Sora and dropped a sealed letter at his feet. “An urgent request from Nyatsume the palico trader! Please send help right away!” She spoke fast, fiddling with her paws in front of her nervously.

Before Sora even had time to open the letter, Tsukasa spoke up. “I’ll take it, whatever it is.”

“Ah, but…” Sora opened the letter, reading over it slowly. “It says that he and his new palico recruits have been cornered by three Great Maccao. Three large monsters is a bit much…”

“I can do it. I want to prove myself.” Tsukasa crossed his arms and frowned. He was serious; he wanted to prove that he was just as capable as his parents both to everyone who was doubting him, and most of all, to himself.

Still, Sora hesitated. “Shishou…” He muttered, clearly unsure if it was okay to send a low rank hunter on a request where multiple large monsters were involved, but at the same time worried about whoever this ‘Nyatsume’ was.

“How about we make it competition, since he seems to want to show off? Whoever kills two out of three of the damn things wins.” Koga stepped forward, a confident smirk on his face.

That seemed to put Sora at ease. After all, if there were two of them working together, they would stand a better chance. “Sora thinks that’s a good idea! Now go! Shishou and his palicoes are travelling through the Jurassic Frontier! You shouldn’t have any problems with other large monsters, because most have already gone through the area for the season. Come back safely!”

Tsukasa had already turned to follow Koga, irritated that he had made this a competition. Now he had even more to lose. If Koga managed to slay two out of the three beasts before he could, then he would look like a fool.

“Where the hell is your helmet, newbie? You’re gonna get yourself killed.” Koga glanced back at Tsukasa as he put his own helmet on, taking care to strap it on securely.

“A helmet is just extra weight and it obscures your vision. I’ve never used a helmet.” Tsukasa rolled his eyes and stepped up into the airship after him. “Unlike someone of your...temperament, I don’t rely on brute force. Speed and precision is all I need, and the lighter my equipment, the faster I can move.”

He had inherited his mother’s light, slender build and had learned most of what he knew from her. From his father, he had learned how throw his weight into every movement to add extra force into his attacks to make up for his weakest trait; physical strength.

“If ya die, I’m not gonna bring your corpse back, you idiot.” Koga crossed his arms and watched as the felyne piloting the airship cranked the lever and stoked the fire to get it up into the air.

“The same goes for you. Don’t drag me down.” Tsukasa snagged a rolled piece of paper from Koga’s bag and unrolled it, pleased to find that it was a map of the Jurassic Frontier.

In the time it had taken Koga to realize what he had done, Tsukasa had mostly committed the map to memory and returned the map to it’s proper home. He did nothing but offer Koga a smirk.

“Beclaws of the seriousness of the situation, I’m gonna drop you both at the scene instead of the usual drop-off point. Then I’ll retreat to that point and wait for your return. Please bring Nyatsume and the fresh paws home safely!” The felyne spoke urgently, but didn’t take his eyes off the sky as he increased the speed at which they were travelling. “Be ready to jump, because I won’t be stopping or going too low. I can’t let the airship become damaged.”

“I understand. Thank you for taking us there. We shouldn’t be long.” Tsukasa gave the felyne a slight nod, pulling himself up onto the railing of the airship.

Where most men would hesitate to even stand so close to the edge of the airship, Tsukasa reveled in it. This was what he had trained to do. This was his specialty; leaping straight onto the backs of monsters or right into the deadly fray of a monster turf war to decimate their numbers. He was ready for this, and he would not hesitate.

“Get ready! I can see them, nya!” The felyne shouted suddenly, guiding the airship into the Jurassic Frontier and the cliffside Maccao nest, where the palico trader was trying to escape the grasp of three Great Maccao with his new recruits.

Tsukasa stared down at the Great Maccao, taking in their appearance and the way they moved.

Great Maccao were simply the larger brethren of the standard Maccao. Their green feathery scaled bodies and red scaled heads were identical in color and pattern, and both reptilian bird wyverns stood upon their hind legs. 

Differing from their smaller brethren, Great Maccao had great feathery crest upon their heads that flared with the changing of their moods. On top of that, their great spiked tail was much larger than average, allowing them to launch themselves halfway across a battlefield to land a devastating blow with their powerful clawed feet.

“AAAAAAAND JUMP!” The felyne shouted as they got close enough for them to land safely.

Tsukasa didn’t hesitate for a moment, launching himself from the airship. Mid-fall, he unsheathed his charge blade from the shield and pointed it downwards, both hands gripping the blade to hold it true.

He was afraid of leaping onto an unfamiliar monster like this, but he told himself that it was just like hunting Remobras on the cliffs that overlooked his home village. It was enough to hold his aim true.

He landed roughly on the back of one of the Great Maccao, the blade burying itself deep into its scaly hide.

The monster bucked and let out a terrifying screech. It immediately went into a frenzy, distracting him from what Koga was doing with the other two monsters. 

Tsukasa held on tightly to the hilt of his charge blade as the Great Maccao bounced and bucked violently, trying to throw him off. The moment it began to slow in its movements, he yanked the blade from the monster, crimson blood spraying across his face.

He launched himself off the Great Maccao, rolling into a crouch as it leaned backwards onto the flat of its tail. He retrieved his shield from his back and strapped it around his arm, leaving enough space for him to lock his charge blade into its secondary form when the time came for a devastating blow.

A few feet away, Tsukasa caught sight of Koga, switch axe cutting through the air with unmatched savagery into the ground between Natsume the palico trader and the monster that had set its sights on tearing him limb from limb.

He missed what happened next, his attention drawn to the wounded Great Maccao that propelled itself through the air, claws extended for him.

Tsukasa ducked and rolled beneath the monster’s tearing claws, shoving his shield up against its clawed feet as hard as he could.

It was enough to unbalance the monster and send it crashing to the ground. He took the opportunity while it thrashed on its side to race to its side, blade raised high to strike it through the heart.

He never got that close. The third Great Maccao body slammed itself against Tsukasa, sending him flying across the clearing. He crashed and rolled into the large nest near the edge of the cliff. 

He was going to be sore tomorrow.

Tsukasa was up in an instant, hardly giving himself a chance to recover. He blinked the dust out of his eyes and picked up his charge blade.

The two Great Maccao circled him, each little movement coordinated with the other’s. Their feathery crests flared subtly, and as Tsukasa watched them, he realized they were working together in a way that their smaller counterparts did not.

Thinking quickly, he glanced down at his blade at the phials inlaid on the flat of the blade that told him how much charge he had managed to gain with each blow. Only the first of the five phials was lit up, glowing faintly white.

It wasn’t enough for him to unleash a devastating enough attack that would hit both monsters at once. He had thought for sure that with the impact of landing on the first Great Maccao would have been enough to charge it up more than that.

Tsukasa shook his head and readied himself for whatever the two monsters decided to try. He knew that if he went after one, the other would be on him as quickly as a melynx would steal felvine from unsuspecting hunters.

They struck then, taking advantage of the fact that he had looked away for a moment, the one on his left going for his legs, while the one on his right went for his head.

Tsukasa didn’t hesitate. He slammed his shield down on the one coming from the left, pressing its head into the dirt while he swung his charge blade in a powerful arc through the second one’s throat.

Blood splashed down from the wound, but Tsukasa paid no mind as he whipped the blade away and swung for the other monster, stumbling back as it managed to shove back against his shield.

His blade slammed down into the dirt, barely missing the Great Maccao that had just escaped his grasp. He backed up rapidly, certain that other one was completely out of commission for the moment.

A cry of pain came from behind him, and then a painful clanging rang out. Unable to resist glancing backwards, Tsukasa saw Koga collapse against the stone wall on the opposite side of the clearing. The Great Maccao Koga was dealing with lunged forward to land the killing blow.

Tsukasa couldn’t sit by and watch it happen. It didn’t matter that they didn’t get along at all; he wasn’t going to let a fellow hunter die if he could help it.

Completely forgetting about his own opponent, he launched himself into action, sprinting as fast as he could manage to intercept the Great Maccao’s deadly fangs.

The moment he got close enough to the monster, Tsukasa slammed all of his weight into the large monster. It was enough to save Koga and it had been enough of a distraction that he was able to put some distance between them so that he could recover.

Tsukasa pulled back away from the monster as it recovered and spun on its heels to retaliate with a vicious swing of its tail. He ducked under the blow and leapt forward again, swinging his blade into a series of rapid blows that were just barely enough to wound the enraged Great Maccao, which was becoming more aggressive in every attack it managed.

“Stop showing off, you damned newbie!” Koga returned to the fray, swinging his switch axe into a devastating blow that managed to sever the monster’s troublesome tail completely. He may have been slow with his axe, but the power with which he struck was something that Tsukasa couldn’t quite match, except when he charged his own blade and locked it into its second form.

“Be grateful I saved your ugly face!” Tsukasa retorted with a roll of his eyes.

The monster let out a horrifying screech of pain and thrashed after the closest target, which happened to be Tsukasa. The mad way in which it dashed towards him was too much for him to dodge successfully.

Tsukasa crouched down and lifted his shield in the hopes that it would at the very least slow the beast down. He glanced at Koga, who was dragging his axe from the indent in the ground that he had made, and made eye contact. He hoped he was smart enough to catch onto his plan, but...somehow he doubted it. Even if he was too stupid to figure it out, Tsukasa was sure that he would be okay.

It seemed that luck was on his side, however, because Koga gave a simple nod and went around the the Great Maccao slowly, staying out of its line of sight until the time came for him to make his move.

The monster slammed itself against Tsukasa’s shield and flung him into the air with one violent jerk of its head, sending him halfway across the clearing again.

As he soared through the air, Tsukasa caught a glimpse of Koga leaping off the top of a boulder and swinging his axe down against the Great Maccao’s neck. Then he lost sight of what was happening as he crashed into the ground painfully and rolled to a stop near the edge of the cliff.

Tsukasa slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, finding that being sent flying for the second time in one day was a lot harder on him than he had expected. He was not looking forward to the bruises that would no doubt cover the majority of his body when he woke up tomorrow.

His breath hitched in his throat for a moment, and he froze. There was something wrong, but he could not pinpoint what it was. He glanced around to see if perhaps the last Great Maccao was about to do something, but it was currently charging at Koga, and something told him that it had nothing to do that monster. It was focused on Koga, and he was not in immediate danger, so what could be the problem?

It hit him like a bag of bricks; he was experiencing what his father called a ‘sixth sense’ and what his mother called a ‘hunter’s intuition’ or ‘monster sense.’

It was something that few hunters had, but intrinsically important to the best hunters because it allowed them to attune themselves to the way of monsters. His mother had had it, and it seemed as if Tsukasa had inherited it as well.

But what on earth was triggering it? It certainly wasn’t the Great Maccao, and there didn’t seem to be any other large monsters in the area.

Tsukasa slowly got to his feet and glanced around with narrowed eyes. There was nothing in sight that even remotely seemed off. He took a step back, his foot landing on the edge of the cliff.

The action sent several loose stones crashing down into the trees below as he quickly stepped away from the cliff again. He froze again, his eyes widening as he realized what he hadn’t even considered before. What if there was something in the trees down below the cliff?

They had been told that the Great Maccao were the only large monsters that were supposed to be in the area at the moment, but monsters didn’t work exactly like that. Just because there weren’t supposed to be didn’t mean that there weren’t, and that was something that neither of them had taken into consideration when they had started this request.

Tsukasa slowly turned towards the cliff, hoping that he wasn’t hearing the beating of wings coming up through the trees, but knowing that it was a futile hope. 

At first, he saw nothing in the ocean of leaves and branches, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Then it burst through the trees with all the regality of the monstrous queen it was named for.

Larger than the species it had branched from, a Dreadqueen Rathian rose. Her brown scales were tinted with the faintest of purple as if every inch of her was saturated in the poison her spiked tail secreted. Enormous wings, patterned in browns and yellows, brought the flying wyvern up into the airspace above the cliff, her clawed legs extending to land on the edge of the cliff where he stood.

Tsukasa stumbled backwards, his eyes widening in horror. A Dreadqueen Rathian was nothing like a Great Maccao. Hunters were required to have special permits to hunt this specific subspecies because of how few hunters came back alive after an encounter with one.

The Dreadqueen touched down on the ground, a vicious snarl growing in her throat as she worked up to the roar that could stun even the hardiest of monsters.

She let loose her roar, nearly deafening everyone in the process, and Tsukasa realized that none of them were going to escape this request unscathed, if they made it back at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. this chapter took wayyyyyyyyy longer to write than i would have liked, but eyyyyyyy it should be better than if i had rushed it so i hope you guys dont mind too much (it ended up being like 3 times as long as the first chapter so...)! anywayyyyyyy i hope you guys are enjoying this so far! there's plenty more in store for the coming chapters, so keep an eye out! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter Three

Paralyzed by fear, Tsukasa stared up at the enormous Dreadqueen. There was nothing he could do against such a dangerous monster. This was it; this was how he was going to die. He had escaped the jaws of death only to meet his fate here at the claws of the Dreadqueen.

“Oi! What the fuck are you doin’?!” Koga’s voice snapped Tsukasa out of it. “Get your ass over here, you dipshit!”

Tsukasa backed up rapidly and then spun around, sprinting back towards Koga and Natsume. He passed the Great Maccao, glancing backwards just in time to see it viciously attack the Dreadqueen Rathian in a futile effort to defend its territory.

“We need to get out of here, now.” Koga snapped once Tsukasa had joined them, glancing between the pair of red heads.

“You know very well that I cannot move as fast as you CAN. That monster will not last long against the DreadquEEN, and we will not make it to safety by THEN.” Natsume spoke up, reaching down to pet one of the felynes that sat cowering behind him.

Tsukasa glanced backwards at the two fighting monsters, seeing that their time was running out. The Great Maccao wouldn’t last much longer.

“...then I’ll distract it.” Koga replied finally. He glanced at Tsukasa, narrowing his yellow eyes. “Get him and the palicoes out of here, and I’ll meet you at the airship, newbie. Watch his leg, he can’t move as fast as we can.”

Tsukasa glanced at Natsume’s leg, taking note of the brace he wore. “I’ll get him out of here.” He glanced back at the fighting monsters, just in time to see the Dreadqueen throw the Great Maccao off the edge of the cliff with a slash of her mighty claws.

Koga leapt to his feet and grabbed his axe, only for his legs to buckle beneath him. He stifled a gasp of pain, but it was too late to keep the other two from realizing that he had been injured when the Great Maccao had pinned him earlier.

There were no other options. Natsume couldn’t move fast enough to escape the Dreadqueen, and Koga likely wouldn’t make it back alive if he tried to distract the monster. Tsukasa was the only one capable enough to serve as a distraction while Natsume escaped.

Fear chilled him to the bone, but Tsukasa forced himself to remember his parents. They had never hesitated when it came to taking on monsters, no matter how terrifying. They hadn’t hesitated to give their lives to try to save their village.

Tsukasa took a deep breath. “Get him out of here, I’ll distract the Dreadqueen.” He didn’t wait for them to respond, instead turning back to where the monster had just been...only to find that the giant monster was nowhere to be found.

This wasn’t good. Slowly, and with an abundance of caution, he made his way over to the edge of the cliff, skirting around the two dead Great Maccao. He knew the Dreadqueen was still close, and his gut told him she had disappeared below the cliff again, but not for long.

He stopped just before the edge of the cliff and peered over, his eyes widening when he saw the Dreadqueen rising from below again. She must have gone after the Great Maccao to finish it off, but now she was coming back for them.

There weren’t any good solutions to this problem, but Tsukasa did have a rather...stupid solution, assuming he could convince himself that this would be just like hunting Remobras on the cliffside.

Tsukasa glanced back at Koga and Natsume, watching them slowly make their way to the point where the airship should have landed by now. There was no time for him to hesitate; he just needed to do what he had done with the Great Maccao earlier.

He drew in a deep breath, steeling his nerves. Then Tsukasa tightened his grip on his charge blade, backed up a few steps, and then dashed towards the edge of the cliff. He made a flying leap and drove his blade into the Dreadqueen’s back.

The Dreadqueen snarled and thrashed, nearly throwing Tsukasa off. He held on as tightly as he could, dragging himself up onto her back, between her wings.

As Tsukasa fought to hold on with her angry thrashing, he struggled to yank his sword from her back, very nearly falling when he managed to do so. Ignoring the fear that threatened to overwhelm him, he stood up on the Dreadqueen’s back and with one swift motion slashed through the delicate membrane of her wings.

This proved to be a mistake. Sure, it made it practically impossible for the Dreadqueen to follow Natsume and Koga by air. But that was the problem.

The Dreadqueen spiralled in the air, beating her wings frantically to keep herself aloft, despite the fact that one wing could no longer do so.

Tsukasa frantically reached for a hold on the Dreadqueen’s scales, fighting to keep himself from falling. He lost his grip and flailed in his panic, nearly losing his charge blade in the process.

His landing was not pretty. He crashed to the ground, a cry of pain escaping his lips as his head hit the ground and his knee slammed into a sharp rock.

It was all he could do to just breathe as the Dreadqueen crashed into the ground not too far away from him. Pain radiated through every inch of his body, and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out again. Something had to be broken; there was no way he hadn’t broken something with a landing that bad.

Tsukasa closed his eyes, fighting against the urge to allow himself to fall unconscious. It felt as if everything were spinning around him, as if he were still spiraling in the sky with the Dreadqueen.

The Dreadqueen let out a terrible roar, and Tsukasa flinched against the piercing noise that nearly deafened him. Then she went quiet, the sounds of her thrashing around replacing her roar.

Tsukasa forced his eyes open, knowing he needed to get up before the monster came after him. Ever so slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The searing pain in his head grew worse, and he had to sit still for a moment before he could try to stand up.

He stuck the end of his charge blade into the dirt, and used it to pull himself to his feet. For a moment he swayed, his injured knee nearly buckling under his weight. He drew in a deep breath and glanced up to see where the Dreadqueen was going to attack him from, hoping that he would be able to move fast enough to avoid whatever she tried to dish out.

However, the Dreadqueen wasn’t focused on him at all. She was preparing to attack, but Tsukasa could not see what she had set her sights on. Perhaps the Great Maccao was still alive?

Then he saw it, or rather, saw _him._

Silvery grey hair covered the eyes of the unconscious man that lay sprawled across the grass, his clothes soaked with mud and blood, as if he had been in a terrible fight. From the looks of it, he was a hunter of some sort, but Tsukasa did not recognize him as any of the hunters that he had seen this morning.

There was no time for thinking, however. The Dreadqueen was preparing to attack him, despite the fact that he didn’t move an inch.

Tsukasa suddenly knew what was going to happen. The Dreadqueen was going to kill this other hunter, assuming he was still alive, and then she was going to go after him and do the same. He couldn’t let this happen.

Hissing in pain, he slowly began limping towards the fallen hunter, increasing his pace as he did so. The Dreadqueen moved at the same time, building up speed to charge.

“Dammit…” Tsukasa broke into a limping run, a stupid, stupid idea coming to him. He sincerely hoped he would come out of this in one piece, but the chances of that were quickly growing slim. This was going to hurt, but he hoped he could move fast enough, and that he had enough phials filled up in his charge blade. A quick glance at his sword showed that he did.

Tsukasa leapt over the unconscious man and landed just as the Dreadqueen reached them. He flung his left arm up into her open jaws and hoped that his shield would be enough to protect at least part of his arm while he charged his blade.

It wasn’t enough. The monster clamped her powerful jaws around the metal shield, piercing straight through it. Her bottom fangs burrowed deep into his arm, through his armor, and Tsukasa nearly dropped his sword because of the agony that tore through his arm.

Forcing himself to act through the pain, he lifted his sword and shoved it through the slot in his shield, locking it into place to charge. It took only a moment, and the little phials that had been gleaming with white light suddenly shifted to blue.

Tsukasa yanked the blade free and pressed a tiny button on the hilt. The charge blade lit up with a blinding white light.

Just as he swung the blade across the Dreadqueen’s nose, she shoved her head forward, the long spine on her chin piercing his skin between the gap in his armor. A pained gasp escaped his lips, and his eyes widened in shock and horror.

But he didn’t stop. His charge blade slashed through her sensitive nose, spilling blood into her nostrils. It was enough to get her to let go and jerk her head away to shake off the blood, snarling all the while.

Tsukasa stumbled backwards, dropping his sword for a moment to press his hand against the new wound.

The dizziness returned, but he shook his head and picked up his sword, putting it away. Then he turned and returned to the unconscious man’s side, a gasp of pain escaping his lips as he bent over to grab him by his arms.

He quickly began dragging the man away from the monster, glancing around for any shelter that would protect them from something so deadly. He had memorized the map, and knew there was a cave system in the area, but he didn’t know where any of the entrances were.

Then he spotted it; a tiny hole to small for even a standard sized Maccao to fit through. He hoped that it would be enough to protect them, and began dragging the man towards it, his breaths coming in harsh gasps.

They were lucky. The hole was just big enough for them if they squeezed through, and Tsukasa wasted no time in doing so, dragging the man with him as gently as he could.

The hole opened up into a cave. It was a dead end, but it would give them a chance to rest and recover, and for Tsukasa to come up with a plan to get them both out of there as safely as possible.

Tsukasa pulled the unconscious hunter into the cave and gently set him down on the dusty cave floor, placing his shield in front of the entrance to the cave. He dropped to his knees, clapping a hand to his mouth to stifle the cry of pain he couldn’t hold back when a surge of excruciating pain burned through his injured knee.

Hands shaking violently, he slowly checked to see where the hunter had been wounded. He didn’t specialize in healing, but his father had taught him how to treat a varying array of wounds growing up. It would be enough until he could get back to the village.

The majority of the blood seemed to be coming from a wound on the hunter’s throat; it was still bleeding at an alarming rate.

Fighting against his dizziness and shaky hands, he took a small candle and matches from his pocket, lighting it so that he could see better. Then Tsukasa dug around in his bag for the roll of bandages he kept for occasions such as these. When he found them, he set them to the side and gently tilted the hunter’s head so that he could see the wound better.

It was a deep gash, but thankfully it had missed his windpipe. There was still a great risk of him bleeding out, but at least he wouldn’t choke on his own blood.

Tsukasa slowly shifted himself into a sitting position and stretched his injured leg out slowly and carefully. He had to bite back another cry of pain and force himself to focus instead on adjusting the injured hunter so that he could more easily wrap the wound.

He grabbed the bandages and began to wrap the gash, taking care not to wrap them too tightly. When he was done, he cut the bandages with his charge blade and tied the ends so that they wouldn’t slip loose around his throat.

Then he took his bag and slid it under the hunter’s head so that it wasn’t lying on the hard ground.

Tsukasa’s dizziness grew worse. He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself before opening them again.

Leaning back against the wall slowly, he undid the straps on his chest plate and slipped it off carefully. Then he looked down at the wound the Dreadqueen had left with the spine on her chin.

Blood had soaked through the thin cloth of his shirt, but it was not as bad as he had originally thought it was. It was deep, but something that would be easy to manage.

Tsukasa grabbed the roll of bandages, ignoring the blood that dripped steadily from his wounded arm. That could wait until he had slowed the bleeding of his more severe injury.

He sat up straight and wrapped the bandages around his abdomen, taking care to make sure that it was tight enough to hopefully slow how much blood he lost. It was difficult to tie the bandages with the way his hands shook, so eventually he gave up and instead put his chest plate back on, tightening the straps more than he should to keep the bandages in place that way.

Tsukasa leaned back against the wall of the cave again, closing his eyes for a moment. He felt so heavy, so tired, but he knew that he couldn’t let himself succumb to sleep when he still needed to assess the damage to his arm and leg.

Judging by the state his shield and gauntlet were in, he wasn’t sure he wanted to see how bad his actual wounds were. Still, he slowly removed his gauntlet, hissing in pain as the bent and torn metal scraped against his wound and even his unbroken skin. It was practically useless with how badly damaged it was now.

“An...angel…” Tsukasa nearly jumped when he heard the hunter speak, his eyes widening. 

He dropped his gauntlet, ignoring the clattering as he carefully dragged himself closer to the hunter without putting pressure on his wounded leg.

“Are you alright…?” Tsukasa whispered, aware that the Dreadqueen could still be lurking nearby.

The hunter groaned faintly and slowly opened his brilliant blue eyes, blinking several times until they focused on Tsukasa’s bloodied face. “You...you’re the angel.” His voice came out like a croak, as if it hurt to speak.

Tsukasa’s eyes widened and his cheeks burned red as he stared down at the clearly delirious hunter. “I...I’m not an angel. You must be confused.”

“I saw it...you were glowing with a blinding light…” The silver-haired hunter studied him closely, taking his time to focus as his mind grew less foggy. “You saved me.”

“Oh...that was just my charge blade.” Tsukasa explained, hesitantly putting his hand on the hunter’s forehead to make sure he hadn’t developed a fever. He didn’t feel any warmer than he should, so Tsukasa pulled his hand away a moment later.

“A charge blade…” The hunter whispered, slowly sitting up. “I see…”

Tsukasa nodded, helping him sit up so that he didn’t overexert himself. “I’m Suou Tsukasa.” He introduced himself, ignoring the way the world seemed to spin around him. “What’s your name?”

“Sena Izumi.” The hunter replied, never taking his eyes off Tsukasa’s face. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m okay. It’s not bad.” Tsukasa knew it was a lie, but...he didn’t want to be doubted again, like he had been back in the village. He could take care of himself, and he wanted nothing more than to prove that he was just as capable as his mother and father were.

Izumi slowly reached out, tilting Tsukasa’s head to the side slowly and lifting up his hair where the blood had matted the worst. “Sit down, you idiot. You have a head injury.”

Taken aback by his words, Tsukasa had no choice but to do as he said, leaning against the cave wall and stretching his legs out in front of him. “It’s not that bad.” Another lie. His head was splitting, and his dizziness was only growing worse.

“Shut up.” Izumi snapped, grabbing the roll of bandages that Tsukasa had set aside earlier.

With practiced hands, Izumi wrapped the wound, making sure to pack extra padding over it to staunch the blood that still seeped from the wound. He leaned away after a moment and sighed.

“...thank you.” Tsukasa managed to mumble, avoiding Izumi’s steady gaze. He leaned his head back against the stone wall and closed his eyes.

“You’re an idiot, Suou. You should have done something else.” Izumi sighed, ignoring the way Tsukasa flinched when he lifted up his injured arm and assessed the damage. “Who the hell taught you to be so reckless?! You can’t just grow a new arm…” He trailed off as he tore away the tattered fabric around his arm, noticing the dark scars that spread down the majority of his arm in a feathery pattern.

It had been a parting gift from the Abyssal Lagiacrus, when Tsukasa had managed to tear out its fang. It had flown into a rage and Tsukasa had not been fast enough to avoid the ball of electricity that it spat at him.

Tsukasa didn’t have memories of what happened after he had been hit, but when he had woken up, he had been told that he had died for several minutes. He had been left with a third degree burn that started at the center of his chest, where his heart rested, and all the way down his left arm. All that remained of it now was the dark scar that resembled branching feathers or pine branches.

“You’re _that_ Suou?” Izumi asked quietly as he slowly began to bandage the wounds that had been left by the Dreadqueen’s deadly fangs. “What are you doing here? I thought your family lived farther up north.”

For a moment, Tsukasa hesitated, wondering how much he could tell Izumi. Rude as he was, he was still helping him.

He couldn’t do it. As much as he was dying to open up and tell someone what had happened, he couldn’t. He couldn’t trust this stranger with any sort of vulnerability; he knew practically nothing about him. 

For now, the only person Tsukasa could trust was himself.

“My parents were asked to come to Bherna, but they have a few things they need to take care of before they can show up, so they sent me in their stead.” He hoped he was convincing enough to fool Izumi.

“You’re lying. Your pulse sped up when you said that.” Izumi replied, but didn’t seem intent on pursuing the issue.

Tsukasa sat still for a moment, unsure of what to say. He had never been a good liar, and it didn’t help that Izumi was currently bandaging his wrist, where it would be easier to tell whether or not his pulse sped up in a lie.

“What are you doing out here? What happened to you? When I found you, you were unconscious.” He changed the subject, still unwilling to tell this stranger the real reason he was here. He opened his eyes and slowly shifted his gaze towards Izumi, eyes resting on the bandages around his throat.

“I was tracking a Nargacuga that hasn’t been staying in its own territory, and I was ambushed.” Izumi replied, pausing for just a moment, as if trying to recall what exactly had happened.

“But you only had one wound...a Nargacuga would have certainly done more than that, wouldn’t it? And it would have been more jagged than that...” Tsukasa watched Izumi, perplexed. A Nargacuga was not capable of leaving such a clean, straight gash such as the one that Izumi had suffered; its claws were meant to rend and tear whatever unfortunate prey ended up in its grasp.

“I was ambushed by a person, not the Nargacuga. It was strange, because they weren’t using any of the weapons hunters use as often now...they were using a real bow, not a bowgun. So few hunters use bows nowadays…” Izumi replied softly, finishing with bandaging Tsukasa’s arms. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Just my knee, but I don’t think it’s an open wound. I just fell and landed on it wrong…” Tsukasa replied, watching Izumi curiously. “You...were shot with an arrow? Did you see who did it?”

Tsukasa almost missed his next words when Izumi removed the armor protecting his knee and leg from further damage because of the terrible jolt of pain that tore through the entirety of his wounded leg. He bit down hard on his lip to keep from crying out, ignoring the blood that dripped down and off his chin.

“Yes. He had black hair and mismatched eyes. I remember because there’s no one in Bherna who has eyes like his; blue and yellow. He also wore a black cloak, but...it looked more like he was wearing a Nargacuga’s fur than an actual cloak…” Izumi replied, gently pushing Tsukasa’s pant leg up so that he could see the extent of the damage done to his knee.

“I see…” Tsukasa forced himself to speak through the pain, making sure his voice didn’t waver. “Well, I imagine he won’t last long with that Dreadqueen on the loose…”

“What the hell happened to you? This is...not good.” Izumi bent Tsukasa’s leg slowly, stopping when Tsukasa cried out. “I...don’t think anything is broken, but...it would be better for you to stay off of it until someone can say for sure. It’s too swollen for me to tell right now.”

“I just…” Tsukasa wasn’t sure how to explain himself. Now that he was thinking about what he had done, he realized just how stupid it was. His parents would be horrified that he had done so many reckless things in one day, and his heart ached with shame. He had been taught better than this. “I was trying to distract the Dreadqueen...the other hunter that came with me was helping a palico trader escape, and someone needed to distract them so that they could…”

Izumi heaved a sigh, but didn’t bother commenting. “This will make getting away from the Dreadqueen more difficult. But you did injure her, so perhaps she will have retreated to recover for now…” He carefully pulled Tsukasa’s pant leg back down, but did not put the armor back on. “It’s better not to put any extra pressure on your leg, so keep this off for now.”

“...thank you.” Tsukasa replied softly, letting out a small sigh as the pain faded to a dull throb. “The Dreadqueen shouldn’t be able to smell us anymore, but she can still hear us. We should leave quickly…”

“I agree. Grab your things and let’s go. I’ll help you.” Izumi slowly moved Tsukasa’s shield away from the entrance to the cave, poking his head out of the hole cautiously to see if it was safe to make their escape.

Tsukasa quickly did as he was told, packing his things back up into his bag and strapping his now useless shield on his back. He blew out the candle and grabbed his charge blade. He may not be able to charge it anymore, but it would still suffice as a regular sword.

“It’s safe. Are you ready?” Izumi glanced back at Tsukasa, studying him for a moment. When he received a nod, he climbed out of the of the cave, turning and pulling Tsukasa out behind him, taking care not to cause him and further pain.

Once they were out, Tsukasa dug his charge blade into the ground and pulled himself up into a standing position, keeping his weight off his injured leg as much as he possibly could.

Izumi frowned, slipping Tsukasa’s arm around his neck, and then slipping his own arm around Tsukasa’s waist. “You can lean on me.”

For a moment, Tsukasa hesitated, but eventually his exhaustion made him give in. He leaned against Izumi heavily, dragging his charge blade out of the dirt since he no longer needed it to support himself.

Once they were situated, Izumi helped Tsukasa walk in the direction that would get them back to the airship the fastest. It was a wide path, and generally safe so long as they passed through Jaggi territory with great haste.

It was slow going with Tsukasa being so badly injured, but for a fraction of a moment, luck seemed to be on their side; Jaggi territory was completely empty and nothing attempted to attack them.

They were close to the rendezvous point when it happened.

The Dreadqueen burst out of the trees, a deafening roar escaping her jaws. She was practically frothing at the mouth with rage, and the moment her eyes landed on the pair of hunters, she charged recklessly.

Tsukasa glanced down at his sword to see if he still had enough of a charge to fend off the Dreadqueen again, dismayed to see that each phial was completely devoid of light.

“Dammit!” Izumi snarled, trying to drag himself and Tsukasa out of the Dreadqueen’s path. It was a wasted effort.

The Dreadqueen snarled again, extending her enormous jaws to clamp down on them with her reckless rage.

Time seemed to slow down, and Tsukasa saw his opportunity. He ducked under the Dreadqueen’s jaws, dragging Izumi down with him, tightening his grip on his charge blade.

Once they were in the clear and safe from her jaws and the spine on her chin, Tsukasa forced himself up, savagely plunging his blade into the throat of the enraged monster and tearing it down to where her throat met her shoulders. Fiery pain tore through his abdomen as he stretched much too far.

Hot blood splashed down on them as the Dreadqueen came to a halt and wobbled, strange gurgling sounds erupting from her throat.

Izumi dragged Tsukasa away and out from under the Dreadqueen as she collapsed onto the ground, convulsing as she struggled to breathe.

Tsukasa blinked the blood from his eyes, staring blankly at the dying monster. He didn’t feel right. His abdomen felt as if it were on fire, as if he had torn open the wound he had just bandaged, and he felt as if the world were spinning around him again, worse than before.

“Suou?” Izumi peered at him, his eyes widening when he realized how disoriented Tsukasa had become, compared to before.

Tsukasa dropped his charge blade, hand rising to put pressure over the wound on his abdomen. He could feel blood seeping out from under his armor, but was powerless to do anything about it. “I…”

Izumi glanced down at Tsukasa’s hand, his eyes widening slightly when he saw the loose bandages peeking out from under his chest plate. “You idiot! You should have said something!” He snapped, trying to keep Tsukasa from collapsing.

It was pointless. Tsukasa’s eyes fluttered shut, and his good leg buckled beneath him. It was strange; everything seemed so far away. Izumi’s voice sounded so distant, and he hardly felt it when Izumi lifted him up again.

“I…” Tsukasa struggled to speak, unable to form a proper sentence. He supposed it wasn’t that bad, since the pain seemed to be disappearing.

“Dammit!” Izumi’s snarl was the last thing Tsukasa heard as he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ehehehe sorry for the cliffhanger! I'll have the next chapter asap but i hope you enjoyed this chapter in the mean time!

**Author's Note:**

> Well! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter~ i will be working on the next chapter pretty soon! Thank you so much for reading!


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